Does anyone live in a neighborhood where they feel like they can pass out things to TOTers other than wrapped candy? Just one of the many things to cross my mind today since I'm a tad bored at work.

I'm not trying to offend here, but this question is kind of directed at some of the older and wiser members ( ) because I really do not recall ever getting anything other than candy during my TOTing days and I'm nearing 30. Do any of you ever recall getting anything such as fun Halloween cookies or the like when you went TOTing?

I also wonder just how comfortable does one have to be with the neighbors to allow their child accept something like that? If I was still a kid, I think I would get bored getting the same candy from every other house and the gross stuff from the ones in between (I'm looking at you, Orange Wax-Paper Wrapped Taffy).

When I was a kid, we didn't have all the fear mongering and perverts that you see today. One of our neighbors use to give out the tastiest pop corn balls you ever would eat. She made them from scratch, and to this day I have never tasted anything quite like them. Now a days, you don't dare give out anything home made as it will undoubetedly end up in the garbage, and the neighbors will suspect you of being a poisener or putting razor blades in the home made cookies. It's really too bad, too, because those scrumptious pop corn balls were one of my favorite parts of Halloween when I was a kid. And she made them HUGE. I would devidt it up into 3 pieces. Some times I would even go back to her house for 2nds. There were also other neighbors who made a lot of home make ToTs. One neighbor made M & M coocolate chip cookies. She would get special Halloween bags of the candies which contained only orange and brown, and would mix them in her made from scratch cookie dough. Another neighbor, an older gentleman, actualy, use to make home kade karmels, and he would individualy wrap them in wax paper. They were also to die for.

Oh, and I'm in my early 50s. I'll be 52 next July. I stopped ToTing when I was in 7th grade, but by then the neighbor who made the fabulous pop corn balls had passed away. It was actualy two years before 7th grade, 5th grade, that I had my very last pop corn ball from that neighbor as she passed away shortly after Christmas of 71. I actualy cried when I heard the news. Two years later you started hearing all the "horror stories" about razor blades in the apples, poisenings and the like.

I really need to look into making popcorn balls. I recall you mentioning them on more than one occasion. And I love M&M cookies. I think it would be fun to be able to pass out more than just candy, but I fear that I would receive a permanent side-eye from the parents around here. I know it's the quiet ones you gotta watch (or actually as George Carlin once said, you really need to watch the fool banging the machete against the wall screaming that he's gonna kill everyone in the room) but I'm seriously the least threatening thing next to a wee puppy.

Pumpkin, you can find recipes for popcorn balls on line. There are many variations, some with photos.

I used to get popcorn balls sometimes, though they were never a great favorite of mine. I did love the caramel apples one neighbor made. I still do love caramel apples.

One of our neighbors used to get a huge bowl of nickels and hand those out on Halloween. I knew them as "the nickel people," though my mother knew their names, and I believe the woman was a sister of John Crowe Ransom's (a published poet, English majors would know him).

I myself have handed out apples and wrapped caramels to TOTers. The kids seem to like it when I do that.

For the most part, though, I didn't receive homemade treats on Halloween, nor would I want to make them for TOTers. I'd have to knock myself out to make enough. I'd be more likely to do that for my family, or for a private party.

Oh, and I am 57, for the record, so my memories of TOT are mostly from the '60s. I think the last time I did it as a kid I was 16, in 1971. I went out with some younger neighbor kids. I was the one "in charge" of the little ones.

Check allrecipes.com for popcorn balls and photos. Paula Deen's name also comes up on Food Network for popcorn balls.

Pumpkin56, we all know you're a decent person, and you kow it, but most parents are going to do what is safest for their children. I really miss the "old days" when people were trustworthy for the most part. In fact, most people are trust worthy, but it's that one pervert who puts a neadle in an apple, or injects poisen into a pice of unwrapped candy to ruin it for everyone. There was a guy, I don't remember his name, who back in the 70s, poisened his own son's Halloween candy to collect on a life insurance policy. Of course, the media blew everything way out of perportion so it looked to the general public that there was a poisener or a pervert on every block. Now I don't mean to trivilize what he did, but the cold hard reality is that it just isn't safe for parents to allow their children to eat anything home made from a stranger.

You're much better off giving out regular ToT candy, like Milk Duds or those miniature candy bars, because home made Halloween treats passed out to ToTers is very suspect in today's world. You can do home made treats for your own friends and family.

AND.....speaking of pop corn balls, I found a recipe on line, and I am going to give it the "old college try" this weekend. Sort of a Halloween treat in February.

I really wasn't considering making treats for TOTers. There are a few kiddos in my parents neighborhood who I'd hand a coffin brownie to if they were interested, but overall I was just kind of curious if anyone had ever received stuff like that while TOTing. It does seem kind of odd though that if one lives in a close knit neighborhood, it would even be an issue to do something like this.

most parents throw out the homemade stuff anyway, you never know what kind of freak might put something in them, store bought and sealed is always the best way to go, but it';s too bad it's come to that

http://theyard.netii.net/"You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar but if you pull their wings off they'll eat whatever you give them!"

I agree with Spooky. There are a few freaks out there all though I don't think the world is totaly over run by freaks and poiseners, but it is a very real danger, and a lot of parents don't even let their kids ToT at all any more. A lot of communities flat out Ban ToT any more. Again, I don't like it when more laws are passed in the name of safety, but you just don't know WHO's on the other side of that door. I wonder how many kids got ToT candy from Ted Bundy, or John Wayne Gacy. Poisening was not their M O, but I would certainly be horified.

And I also agree that it's too bad that it's come to that. ToT is a very much loved tradition, and with all the fear mongering and reactionary legislation, it's probably going to die out with in all of our life times.

Murf has a point too. If you were going to make something home made in my town to hand out, no only would it take a lot of time, but you would have to make huge batches of the stuff. And as pointed out, most if not all parents would just throw it away, anyhow.

I get tons of ToTers. Speaking of alternate treats, I remember one neighbor who use to give out pennies or nickles, and the secretary who use to work in my office gave out 'Tootsie Cars," instead of candy.